Five Crazy Days in Tokyo…… part 3

The only thing driving me out the door on our third day in Tokyo was coffee. We found a very cool little cafe, but sadly their coffee machine was broken. The owner, was however, making drip filter coffee, which is very popular in Japan. It takes an extrodinary amount of time to make, and is very strong, but was just what the doctor ordered….. We had a very funny experience in the cafe. A young girl who was obviously still up from partying the night before started trying to talk to the girls. She had very little English, and her Japanese was unintelligable to Super Sake Boy and I. After a lot of confusion, and polite apologises, the girls couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

First stop was Shinjuku, to the Metropolitan Government Buildings. We zoomed up in the lift, after having our bags checked by security, 45 floors in less than a minute. The views from the Observation Floor are fantastic. Tokyo is enormous and it’s amazing to see from that vantage point. Sadly, it was too cloudy to get a view of Mount Fuji. We did, however, get an amazing view of Kenzo Tange’s Tokyo Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower. The kids and I call this building “The Fingerprint”. I love it for a couple of reasons… Seeing it means I am in Shinjuku, and I love Shinjuku. It is beautiful and captivating and such a spectacular sight amongst the bling of Shinjuku. And….. I had never seen it in it’s entirety. From base to tip. I was very excited.

From here we headed to Akihabara, for some shopping. Yodabashi Camera and some new headphones…. then the boys and the girls split up. Trying to fit in what everyone wanted to do was a little difficult. The girls and I went and grabbed some curry for lunch and then jumped back on the train and headed back to Shibuya. They were very keen to do some 109 shopping. They were not disappointed and both found jackets that they loved.

We headed back to meet the boys at Meguro Station, where we were also meeting a friend called Mai. I met Mai when she was in Australia, travelling as a chaperone with some students from Gakushuin Women’s University in Tokyo. They were doing language immersion at Deakin Uni and came to my work to visit an Australian Primary School. Super Sake Boy, the kids and I took Mai out for dinner in Melbourne, and she was keen to return the favour. She took us to an izakaya we never would have found without her, and ordered for us. The food was some of the best I have had in Japan, and in fact, maybe my life…. my mouth is watering as I write this, remembering the cheese stuffed sancho pepper wrapped in bacon yakitori. Oh my goodness, it was heaven!!!!!! We all tried lots of new things that we hadn’t had before. The restaurant was called Tatsumi Farm, or Tatsuminouen (in Japanese) and the address is 1-8-12 Nakacho Meguro Tokyo. (Here is a link to the menulog reviews. You may have to change the language??) I highly recommend this place. The food was fantastic, the sake was also fantastic and the place was beautiful and pretty traditional. Mai was an excellent host, and we all had a great night.

We were very tired by the end of dinner, and an early night was what was needed for all…. especially me! Tokyo is such a great city to eat in. And, increasingly, izakayas are getting less smoky and a bit more family friendly.